
AN ADDRESS 



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BUFFALO FEMALE ACADEMY, 






^ 



AT THE DEDICATION OF 



GOODELL HALL, 




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ON THE 6TH OF JULY, 1852, 

BY CHARLES E. WEST, LL. D., 

PRINCIPAL OF THE ACADEMY. 



s BUFFALO: 



GEORGE REESE & CO., PRINTERS, 
NO. 5 WEST SENECA STREET. 



1852. 




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AN ADDRESS 



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BUFFALO FEMALE ACADEMY. 



AT THK DEDICATION OF 



GOODELL HALL, 



ON THE 6TH OF JULY, 1- 

BY CHARLES E. WEST, LL.D., 






PRINCIPAL OF TIIF. ACADEM1 

J" 



S BUFFALO: 

QEOBGE SBRBE i (<>., PUTXTERS, 
NO. 5 WEST SENECA STREET 



3 



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1852. 






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Buffalo, July 14th, 1852. 
Dr. Charles E. West — Dear Sir: — At a special meeting of the 
Trustees of the Buffalo Female Academy, held upon the 8th fast, the 

following resolution was adopted, viz: 

Resolved, " That Prof. West be requested to furnish a copy of his 
address, upon the occasion of the dedication of " Goodell Hall," for pub- 
lication, with a statement of the proceedings at that time, and that the 
Secretary address him a note requesting the same." 

In pursuance of which resolution, I hereby request you to furnish a 
copy of the above mentioned address and statement for publication. 
Very Respectfully, Yours, 

E. J. BALDWIN, Sec'y. 



E. J. Baldwin, Esq. — Dear Sir: — Your note, containing the resolu- 
tion of the Board of Trustees, requesting me to furnish, for publication, 
a copy of the address, proceedings, &c, at the dedication of " Goodell 
Hall," is before me. I am grateful for the compliment thus conveyed, 
and yield rather to their convictions of its possible utility, than to any 
satisfaction of my own therewith, in submitting the address for publica- 
tion. With great respect, 

I am, dear sir, 

Very truly yours, 

CHAS. E. WEST. 
Evergreen Cottage, July 15th, 1852. 



ADDRESS. 



The theme which has been selected for our contem- 
plation as most fitting and appropriate to this occasion, 

is WOMAN. 

It is our intention to consider the eminent rank she 
holds in the scale of intellectual and moral being, the 
goodness of God in bestowing so priceless a treasure, 
and the consequent importance of placing her under 
such influences and culture, as glial! Lest develope those 
intrinsically excellent qualities of heart and mind with 
which she is so richly endowed. 

Woman was the crowning work of creation. This 
glorious universe, these suns and stars which till the 
vault of Heaven, this beauteous earth, rolling in silent 
adoration of its God, were nothing, till woman, the real- 
ization of all that is divine in beauty and glorious in 
conception, was made a living soul and placed on the 
earth to be the friend and companion of man, to par- 
ticipate in his pleasures, to. inspire him with high and 
noble aims, and to grace his walk in life. In view of this 
master-piece of beauty, this finishing stroke of the Al- 
mighty Architect's skill and power might "the morning 
stars have sung together and all the suns of God shout- 
ed for joy. 1 ' 



G 

We are first to consider the eminent rank woman holds 
in the scale of intellectual being. We have already 
said that the creation was not pronounced complete by 
the voice of Inspiration till the mother of the race ap- 
peared and entered upon her divinely appointed mission. 
This alone is sufficient evidence of her exalted rank. 
The process of creation had been slow. Age after age, 
one geological cycle after another in untold succession, 
even after the separation of the waters from the firma- 
ment, was requisite for the peopling with organized 
forms those sterile plains and barren mountains which 
had been evoked from the abyss of waters, the symbols 
of all that was gloomy in solitnde and terrific in death. 

What a subject is this for the contemplation of the 
philosopher ! Let him bring before him the array of 
physical agencies which were employed to prepare the 
earth as a habitation of man. What scenes of confusion 
and disaster were requisite ! What warring of elemen- 
tal nature! What an expenditure of vital forces to bring 
order out of confusion, and reduce to system and beauty 
those chaotic forms which would have offended the eye 
and terrified the heart! It was a progressive work. An- 
imals and vegetables of the lowest forms and types, to 
the more perfect organisms, appeared, embracing a series 
of epochs which no formula of the mathematician can 
calculate, but the evidence of whose existence stands out 
in living characters in the rocky tablets of almost every 
mountain slope and every sylvan vale. All this was pre- 
paration on the part of Deity. The earth was now filled 
with beauty. It glowed in every glittering dew-drop, 
in every dancing sunbeam, in every trembling leaf, and 
in every living creature. The earth, the air, the ocean ; 
bird, beast, insect and plant, demonstrated the perfection 



I 

of the Divine Architect, Still there was no ivorsJn'pper 
amid this garden of resplendent glories ! There was no 
eye beside the Omniscient to guage the matchless skill 
of creative power ; no soul to drink in the extacies of 
the exciting scene, The grand climax of creation had 
not been wrought, Man and his fair companion were 
yet to appear, as the denizens and proprietors of this 
goodly heritage. Into them, at last, was breathed the 
breath of life. To them were committed the oracles of 
God. They alone could appreciate the evidences of Di- 
vinity which tilled earth and Heaven. They alone could 
worship Him who had brought life and immortality to 
light. They alone, of all the countless beings which 
peopled earth and ocean, could sympathize with the Di- 
vine mind, for they were created in the image of God, 
and made a little lower than the angels. In this revela- 
tion of Divinity, we arc made acquainted with the ex- 
alted rank and dignity of our first parent-, and their al- 
liance with God and angelic intelligencies. 

Thus far, there is no difficulty in the discussion of this 
part of our subject. That woman is superior to the low- 
er orders of animated nature ; that she is an intelligent 
and moral a^ent, all admit. But that she can claim 
equality with man who is styled her lord and master, is 
a point about which there has been incessant wrangling, 
and generally, it is to beregretted, she lias had the worst 
of the conflict. 

We may not be able in our vindication of woman to 
remove the prejudices of those who possess so little gal- 
lantry as to insist that because woman has been a slave 
anions: heathenish and even civilized nations therefore it 
is improper to award to her the possession of any thing 
more than ordinary abilities. The doctrine of equality 



between the sexes shocks their sensibilities and wounds 
their self-complacent pride. They are noisy in their de- 
nunciations of an award so insulting, and challenge an 
appeal to facts, 

Nor can we hope for any betfer success in reasoning 
with those, who in their untempered zeal for woman's 
rights, aim the shafts of infidelity against the oracles of 
God and declare that the teachings of Inspiration are 
adverse to the spiritual well being of one-half the race. 
The Bible, in their estimation, is a book of cunningly 
devised fables, and deserves to be ranked with the my- 
thologies of an absurd and superannuated heathenism. 
They would insinuate by sophistries the most subtle and 
refined, that Jesus and his Apostles were nothing but 
impostors and deserve the reprobation of all high-mind- 
ed and independent thinkers. These men style them- 
selves reformers, and profess to have found a panacea for 
the woes which afflict mankind. They would rob wo- 
man of that modesty of demeanor which is the ornament 
of her character and the source of her power. They 
would inspire her with false sentiments and make her 
dissatisfied with the sphere of action Providence design- 
ed her to move in. They would reverse the order of 
things and make men of women and women of men. 
Their teaching is not only revolutionary but destructive 
of all that is pure in morals and holy in religion. They 
would dethrone God and place human reason in admin- 
istration of the affairs of the world. They are ration- 
alists, pantheists, socialists, making Avar upon God and 
man. 

The difficulty of rightly apprehending our subject, it 
is thought, lies in the fact that things which are dissim- 
ilar in nature and design have been counfounded. There 



9 

has been no true analysis, pointing out the distinctions 
which characterize the sexes. Or, at least, these distinc- 
tions appear to be lost sight of. Now, it is evident, that 
the spheres of action designed for man and woman, from 
their very natures, are diverse. This is not said in de- 
rogation of woman's rights. It is no reflection upon her 
character. Her sphere is as honorable as that of man's, 
and, as we hope to show, as responsible ; demanding as 
much care, if not more, in her education. Still they dif- 
fer. Man is made for the outer world. He must battle 
with the elements, clear forests, till the soil, build cities, 
navigate ships, carry on commerce, fill the learned pro- 
fessions, make laws and govern the State. His duties 
are masculine, demanding energy, and strength of mind 
and body. He is consequently furnished with a physi- 
cal structure adapted to the necessities of his condition- 
Woman's sphere, on the contrary, is less conspicuous, 
but as far reaching and important. Her's is the inner 
world. She is the heart of the family and the social 
circle, whose pulsations are every where felt and acknow- 
ledged. She is the power behind the throne, centraliz- 
ing within herself all that is mighty in influence and at- 
tractive in excellence. She has a more refined nature 
than man. Her sensibilities are keener; her perceptions 
quicker. She has a versatility of nature, and power of 
adaptation, which enables her to accommodate herself to 
the everchanging phases of human society. She has 
greater benevolence, greater patience in adversity, greater 
forbearance under injury, than man. She is gifted with 
qualities of moral excellence, I am free to confess, which 
cannot be found in such depth of tone and richness of 
coloring in my own sex. 

Look at the self-denial of woman. Are any sick or 



10 

in affliction? It is she who stands by the couch of the 
sufferer and unweariedly administers to his necessities. 
Are any in bonds, outcasts of God and man? it is she, 
like an angel of inercy, who goes down into the very 
depths of a degraded humanity and pours into the ear 
of the captive, the sweet accents of mercy. Yes, it is 
woman's eye that fills with tears at the recital of human 
suffering:. It is woman's hand that is extended in aid of 
the poor and sorrowing. It is woman's heart that ever 
beats with the deepest and purest sympathies. In esti- 
mating her sensitive nature then, there can be no exagge- 
ration. She is a priceless gift of Heaven; the great ally 
of truth; the conservative influence in staying the tide 
of conation, and in disseminating the religion of the 
cross. 

But let us also look into her intellectual nature. The 
superiority of woman in all that relates to the affections 
is universally acknowledged. It is different, however, 
with respect to the intellect. Here it is gravely affirmed 
that man reigns supreme, and in corroboration of this 
assertion, it is said, that no woman has ever written an 
immortal work in any of the great departments of hu- 
man knowledge. 

Now, we are free to acknowledge, that if this be the 
test by which the case is to be decided, woman's claim 
to any thing like an equality with man must necessarily 
fall. For, if we look into the records of bibliography, 
we shall find that the great mass of books have been 
written by men. Here, woman has done comparatively 
nothing. She does not figure at all in Grecian or Roman 
literature. It is only in modern times she has ventured 
to use the pen. Is authorship a fair test of the relative 
intellectual capacities of the sexes when we consider the 



11 

oppression under which woman has laboured I It is but 
recently that any provision has been made for her edu- 
cation. And even now, taking society at large in this 
country and in Europe, (and where else can we look for 
civilization?) how stinted are the means of culture em- 
ployed in her behalf! Where are the Universities that 
have been reared for woman I Where the libraries, those 
repositories of learning, that have been devoted to her 
improvement? Where the men of genius, the Platos 
and the Newtons, who have devoted their lives to in. 
structing her? How absurd then, to look for colossal 
monuments of learning and genius among those who 
have been cut off from the sympathies and excitement 
of letters! 

This, therefore, is an unfair criterion. We might as 
well condemn the Hottentot because he does not exhibit 
the same mental development as the Englishman; or the 
peasant, for his stupidity when compared with the man 
of culture. Men are in the main, creatures of circum- 
stances. They reflect the light which falls upon them. 
They cannot break down the bulwarks of an ignoble and 
degrading serfdom and walk forth into the pure sun-light 
of Heaven. What chance has a Feejee islander to rise in 
the world ? What would Pascal or Milton have been, had 
they lived and died amid the burning plains of Africa or 
the frozen plateaus of Siberia ? And why demand impossi- 
bilities of woman ? Why charge her with inferiority be- 
cause she has not figured in the walks of literature and 
science, when it is notorious she has had to struggle with 
the prejudices of ages? Wait, ye defamers of j^our mothers 
and sisters ! Withhold your censorious cavilling and 
overbearing dogmatism. Give woman a fair trial and 
you shall see yourselves equalled and even distanced in 
nobler than Olympian "contests. 



12 

I am unwilling in this connection to pass in silence the 
names of a few out of many women who by their rare 
intellectual qualities have done honour to their sex and 
the nations to which they belong. 

In England, first on the roll of fame, stands the name 
of Mary Sommerville, who, if I am not mistaken, has 
written an immortal worlc, "The Mechanism of the Hea- 
vens," which must ever be ranked with the Principia of 
Newton and the Mechanique Celeste of La Place. What 
delightful associations cluster around the memories of 
Hannah More, Maria Edgeworth, Felicia Hemans, Eliza- 
beth Elstob, and Elizabeth Carter ! 

In France, are the names of De Stael, Dudevant. D'- 
Arblay, De Genlis, Sevigne, Janot DAbrantes, Deshou- 
lieve and Kaybau. 

In German, are the writings of Frederika Bremer, the 
charming Swede, Grafinn Hahn Hahn, Grafinn Solms Ho- 
henberg, Caroline Pichler, Amalie Schappe, Wilhelmine 
Von Gersdorf, Henriette Hanke, Princesse Amalie Von 
Lachsen, and Madame Karsch. 

Among our own country women, I could instance a 
brilliant constellation of names. A few must suffice. And 
first, is Catharine Sedgwick, whose genius has ever been 
my admiration, whose name is associated more than any 
other, with my juvenile reading. It was she who taught 
me to love the beautiful hills and vallies of my native 
Berkshire, and inspired my youth with high aims and 
noble sentiments. Her writings are distinguished for 
their simplicity and beauty of style; for their purity and 
moral excellence; for the attractiveness of their subjects, 
and for the happy influence they have exerted in the el- 
evation and refinement of American women. Her suc- 
cess has undoubtedly been the means of inducing many 



13 

of her countrywomen to enter upon a literary career, 
who are now reaping the rewards of their industry and 
talents. Sedgwick and Cooper will ever be regarded a^ 
the pioneers in that department of American literature, 
which describes our rural scenery and rustic life, and we 
are under lasting obligations of gratitude to them for the 
masterly manner in which they have executed their 
work. 

Whose sympathies are not excited at the early depar- 
ture of the Davidsons, those beautiful sisters of song, 
who swept the chords of the heart with such touching 
sweetness and angelic power, and left behind them a 
memory whose fragrance will exhale as long as purity 
and loveliness shall find a home on earth ( 

It is unnecessary for me to do more than mention the 
names of Maria L. Child, Margaret Fuller, Mrs. Sigour- 
ney, Mrs. Putnam, Mrs. Stowe, Mrs. Ellet, Catharine 
Beecher, Maria Mitchell, Elizabeth P. Peabody, and An- 
ne C. Lynch, who by their varied excellencies have add- 
ed to our national literature and fame. 

Admitting, however, for the sake of arguing with 
our opponents, that woman does not possess that strength 
and depth of intellect Avhich belongs to man, an affirma- 
tion which can only be proved by placing the sexes un- 
der the same means of discipline, and that for a series 
of years, still as we have already shown that she is supe- 
rior to him in all that belongs to the sensitive part of 
our nature, she can very well afford to relinquish some- 
thing of what is not of so much value, and thus gratify 
the vanity of her weak and self complacent brother. 

The truth is, it is idle to compare man and woman. 
They are unlike. They are but parts of a unit, the com- 
plements of each other. Each is incomplete in itself. 



14 

The man is nothing without the woman, and the woman 
nothing without the man. Together, they constitute a 
harmony, an entity, in the grand scheme of creation, and 
should be treated as such in their education. This doc- 
trine, though new, is beginning to receive some little at- 
tention. It will meet with opposition, however, so long 
as man is governed by passion rather than by reason. 

It is a doctrine that never opened upon the mental 
vision of the Mohammedan or heathen world. Greece, 
notwithstanding her brilliant career in civilization and 
refinement, never recognized this element so vital to the 
permanency and prosperity of society, unless we except 
the earlier periods of her existence, the Homeric Ages. 
In the Iliad and Odyssey, there is a delicate and chival- 
rous appreciation of the female character, which is cot 
tarnished by a single allusion that can be construed into 
an implication of either censure or contempt. And what 
is quite remarkable, this will hold true of what is said 
of Helen, who was the object of the poet's reprobation, 
but over whose faults he would fain throw the oblivious 
veil of a magnanimous and forgiving generosity. But 
this spirit did not always last; for in the brightest period 
of Grecian history — when Athens was in the height of 
her glory — when philosophy taught in her Academy, her 
Lyceum, her Porch, and her Garden — when poetry, paint- 
ing and sculpture, those aesthetic arts, presented their 
most lovely and inimitable creations of grace and beauty, 
woman became a by-word and a reproach. She was treat- 
ed with a coarseness and ribaldry that would have degrad- 
ed even the ferocity of savage life. She was vilified in 
temples and theatres and made to personify all that is ab- 
surd in folly and hateful in vice. She was compelled to 
make the most indecorous exhibitions of her person at the 



15 

baths and the gymnasia. She was cut oft' from all ra- 
tional and intellectual associations and made to pander 
to the lusts of a brutal and licentious public taste. She 
was robbed of that exquisite delicacy of feeling, that 
bloom, as it were, of feminine purity which shrinks from 
the slightest touch, and became an object of loathing and 
disgust. For proof of this, it is only necessary to refer 
to her historians, her philosophers, and her poets. And 
I would especially cite Aristophanes, the most distin- 
guished of her comic writers, who made it his business 
to satirize the follies and vices of liis countrymen. 

But little, if anything, more can be said in praise of 
the Roman character for the regard and esteem they en- 
tertained for woman, and any reservation in their favor 
will only apply to the earlier ages of that remarkable 
people. The Roman mind seemed cast in a different 
mould from that of the Greek. It was more sedate and 
contemplative. A sturdier virtue controlled its actions. 
There was greater strength and solidity of character — 
a calmer and more philosophic spirit, which led them to 
investigate all matters pertaining to the welfare of the 
people. They clearly saw that their prosperity depend- 
ed upon a scrupulous and deferential regard for Avoman 
and the domestic relations — that home is the great centre 
around which clusters every holy affection — that here 
patriotism and religion must be kindled, in order to burn 
with a clear and enduring name. This adoration of wo- 
man gave coloring to their institutions and manners. It 
imparted vitality and greatness to the commonwealth, 
and rendered the name of the Roman Matron, 

" Clarum, ac vencrabile nomen gentibus, ac nostra multum quod 
profuit urbi." 

But sad to relate,!)}' the introduction of Grecian vices 



16 

and Grecian follies, this beautiful character was under- 
mined. The fountains of virtue were dried up. The 
noble and chivalrous enthusiasm which glowed in the 
breast of the Roman for his wife, his children, his lares 
and his hearth, subsided into a cold and contemptuous 
venality. Faction entered the councils of the State. 
Crime stalked unabashed in open day. Innocence fled 
to the caves and the mountains, or was struck down by 
the assassin in its efforts to escape. The bulwarks of 
the temple of Freedom gave way, and all that made ex- 
istence happy was whelmed in one wide-spread and uni- 
versal ruin. 

What has Mohammedanism doue for woman? Has it 
not robbed her of her birthright ? Has it not degraded 
her to the level of the brute ? Has it not silenced every 
aspiration of her soul, and thrown around her the pall 
of a worse than Cimmerian darkness ? Has it not dried 
up the very fountains of her being, and caused her faint 
and famishing spirit to feed upon ashes ? O ! who can 
portray the miseries that Ismaelism has heaped upon 
woman ! Nought but the records of eternity can dis- 
close the agonies that have wruns: her bosom and drunk 
up the life of her soul. 

But need we extend our observations ? Is not the 
student of history satisfied that woman, under the palm- 
iest days of Heathenism, has received little else but in- 
dignity from the hands of her rival — that her lot Las 
been one of sadness and disaster ? Does he not see that 
the highest degree of culture in philosophy, in literature 
and in the fine arts, may exist, to the exclusion of those 
moral considerations which give dignity to character and 
happiness to society ? Is not his soul filled with loathing, 
at the exhibitions of moral turpitude which stain almost 



17 

every page of history ? Does lie look for a brighter 
picture? As he stretches his eye over this broad waste, 
can lie behold no dove of mercy, bearing the olive leaf, 
at once the token and pledge that the waters which have 
scourged the race are subsiding, and that the moral world 
is to be clad in verdure and bathed in light i Yes, trem- 
bling spirit, calm thy fears. The night of sorrow is pass- 
ing away. The dawn of a glorious day is at hand. The 
star of Bethlehem already beams over Judca. The spirit 
of j)i'ophecy is realized. " For unto us a child is born ; 
unto us a son is given ; and the government shall be up- 
on his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, 
Councellor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace. 11 Here, in a manger, is cradled the 
hope of the world. Here, Divinity and humanity meet. 
Here, mercy and truth embrace each other. Here, life 
and immortality are brought to light. Here, the cere- 
ments of death, which encircled woman in their oblivi- 
ous folds, fall off and her captive spirit goes free. 

The only topic remaining to be discussed, is the edu- 
cation of woman. And here, I am forewarned of the im- 
possibility of doing justice to a subject of such vital im- 
portance, in the narrow limits assigned me. It would 
require a volume for its perfect elucidation. It will be 
my purpose, however, to sketch some of its more im- 
portant features and throw r out such hints and reflections 
as have grown out of my experience as a teacher of youth 
for a quarter of a century. 

The importance of female education can no longer be 
a matter of speculation. It has become a settled con- 
'viction that woman must be educated to fit her for the 
duties and responsibilities of life. It is seen that she 
occupies no inferior position and that she gives coloring 



18 

to every tiling pertaining to the welfare and happiness 
of society. Hence it is, that in modern legislation pro- 
vision is made for the educational wants of the young, 
and stringent laws passed, requiring the attendance at 
school of all children, between certain prescribed ages, 
for a definite jwrtion of the year. It is seen that igno- 
rance is the parent of vice, and that vice leads to crime 
and poverty. It has become an axiom in political econ- 
omy that it is cheaper for the State to establish schools 
and support them, than to build poor-houses and peni- 
tentiaries. It is expected that Republican Governments 
should lead in such reforms ; but still, it is none the less 
gratifying to behold some of the monarchies of the Old 
World emulating the Republic of the New in this phi- 
lanthropic movement. Prussia has established a noble 
system of schools ; so have Saxony and some of the 
Western and South-western States of the German Con- 
federation. In this enumeration should also be included 
Scotland, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, and even France. 

But, it is to our own country, and to the State of Mas- 
sachusetts in particular, that the honour of first establish- 
ing free schools is clue. Our Puritan Fathers, as soon 
as they had made provision against the rigors of the cli- 
mate and the attacks of savage foes, founded a college 
and established common schools. They saw that know- 
ledge is the handmaid of religion, and that both are es- 
sential to the self-government and happiness of a people. 
Hence, in every village and hamlet throughout the colony 
were reared the church and the school-house. It is to 
these institutions, under God, more than to all other in- 
fluences combined, that our country has risen to its pre- 
sent greatness and glory. New England has sent forth 
her school-masters and missionaries, who have scattered 



Ill 

broadcast over the land the seeds of national strength 
and refinement which are everywhere springing up and 
bearing fruit. These are the men who have waged war 
upon ignorance and error, and have won for themselves 
immortal honors. These are the men to whom humani- 
ty is indebted for rolling back the tide of corruption and 
lifting up into the light and blissfulness of Heaven, the 
down trodden and degraded sons and daughters of 
Adam. 

It is strange that England should have had no part in 
this good work ; that she should have established no 
system of National Education ; that she should have ne- 
glected her millions, and left them to perish in darkness. 
You can hardly find an allusion in the works of her 
classic writers, to the subject of education; and the few 
that do occur are intended to degrade the teacher and 
his profession. This is true from Shakspeare down to 
the meanest vilitier. John Locke's treatise, "Thoughts 
on Education," should be excepted, for it is really one of 
his most valuable works. Abounding in quaint criticisms 
and valuable suggestions, it admirably answered the plan 
the author had in view, viz : the education of an English 
gentleman; but was of little account in its application 
to the education of the masses, and particularly of fe- 
males. 

The earliest writer on female education, with whom I 
am acquainted, was Fenelon, who published his first 
work in 1688, entitled " Sur TEducation des Filles." He 
was appointed, in consequence, tutor to the grand chil- 
dren of Louis XIV. He recommended reform in schools. 
He disliked austerity in the teacher, and appealed to 
moral suasion. He would strew the path of learning 
with flowers. The pupil should look upon beautiful 



20 

landscapes and parterres, and listen to the singing of birds 
and the murmurs of running waters. He was afraid 
that great acquisitions of knowledge would be injurious 
to woman. " Keep their minds," he says, " as much as 
you can within the usual limits, and let them understand 
that the modesty of their sex ought to shrink from 
science with almost as much delicacy as from vice." Still 
he would have them read some works of poetry and elo- 
quence, carefully avoiding all those that relate to love ! 
He would have them study Greek, Roman and French 
history ; write a good hand ; and learn the four rules of 
arithmetic ; but no more, for any greater acquisition of 
mathematics would injure their minds, corrupt their 
manners, and make them formidable enemies, if not to 
the State, especially to their fathers and husbands ! 

I have instanced Fenelon to show the growth of our 
cause in a hundred and fifty years. He, strange as it 
may appear, was greatly in advance of his age. His 
scheme of studies was deemed extravagantly large. Now, 
it would not answer for the district school. In these 
days, a lady's education is not regarded as complete un- 
less she has acquired one or two languages besides her 
own, studied the higher mathematics, acquainted herself 
with history, geography, belles lettres, philosophy, natur- 
al history, and psychology. All this shows that our sub- 
ject is highly esteemed, and that whatever sacrifices a 
parent may make in the way of retrenchment in other 
matters, the education of his children must be attended 
to. Here, there must be no curtailing. It will no more 
do to stint the mind than the body. Each must have 
its proper aliment for its true development and health- 
ful activity. 

We believe public sentiment, on this point, to be right. 



21 

But, there is a difficulty which lies not in the theory, but 
in its practical application. What is education ? Is it 
the study of & particular class of subjects, or of all sub- 
jects \ Is it the ability to repeat what is contained in 
books ? Is a lady educated who has attended this, that 
or the other seminary of distinguished reputation, or who 
has been under the special instruction of this, or that re- 
nowned scholar ? Would a visit to the classic land of 
Greece, a walk amid the splendid remains of the Acro- 
polis, necessarily fill the mind of the beholder with those 
emotions of the sublime and beautiful, which inspired 
the soul of the Athenian artist and poet ? Would he 
appreciate the spirit of high art which glowed in the 
Parthenon, or breathed in the Apollo Belvidere, when 
he had nothing within him to respond to this high born 
inspiration I We think not, To appreciate, he must 
look beyond these outward forms to the ideas which they 
express. He must take a deep insight into the spiritual, 
and suffer his fancy to revel amid those etherial and sub- 
limated conceptions of beauty which glittered and 
sparkled in the bosom of genius. He must, in spirit, 
become an artist. 

So with the student. He must look at ideas, not 
words ; at realities, not their symbols. He must drink 
at living fountains and not chase the mirage over desert 
plains. 

" The hot air quivers, and the sultry mist 
Floats o'er the desert with a show 
Of distant waters, mocking their distress." 

He must carefully survey the monuments of human learn- 
ing which have been reared in past generations, and take 
from any or all, what will enlarge and enrich his own 
soul. This he cannot do at the outset. He must be 



99 

directed to those subjects which are best fitted to devel- 
ope both mind and heart. These must be pursued with 
singleness of purpose and intensity of application. He 
must be taught that there is greater pleasure in the pur- 
suit than in the acquisition of knowledge ; that what is 
known ceases to entertain. He must learn the distinc- 
tion between the utile et duke, the useful and the agree- 
able, in knowledge. He must not take the utilitarian 
view, so characteristic of the American character, and ask 
what practical application can be made of this or that 
acquisition. This is degrading to the genius of learning. 
It deadens every lofty sentiment and stultifies the most 
promising intellect. The spirit of learning is pure and 
gentle. It is true to itself and can never be made to as- 
sociate with the impure and degrading. It can form no 
alliance with Mammon. 

The grand error in our modes of education in this 
country is twofold — an excessive regard for the useful 
and a want of thoroughness in any thing. 

The first we have already characterized as inconsistent 
with the genius of learning. The second must be ac- 
knowledged as true, by any one who has witnessed the 
working of our institutions. This is particularly appli- 
cable to our colleges. It will be seen on examination, 
that the scheme of studies in them, has been greatly 
enlarged duriug the last fifty years, while the time pre- 
scribed for the undergraduates' course, has not been in- 
creased. Theinjudiciousness of this arrangement is greatly 
to be deplored. It deteriorates our scholarship and degrad- 
es us in the estimation of learned Europeans. The time 
is not far distant, it is hoped, when this crying evil will 
be remedied, for its effects are not confined to the colleg- 
es, but are extended to the academies and schools of lower 



B3 

grade. What we need in the departments of instruction, is 
thoroughness*. It matters not so much what a pupil 
studies, as how he studies. He should thoroughly map 
ter what he undertakes, regard being had, not so much 
for the information gained, as for the mental power ac- 
quired. Education means development, and has respect 
to the living agent, not to his acquisitions. A man may 
be well informed and not be educated. By travel, by 
mingling in society, by promiscuous reading, he may pass 
for a scholar and still be an unlettered man. There are 
but few learned men in our country, and the tendency 
of things, notwithstanding our boasted systems of edu- 
cation, is to diminish even this number. As a people, 
we are too much given to experiment in matters of edu- 
cation. We are satisfied with showy results. We are 
clamorous for novelties, and novelties we have. Patent 
systems, short hand methods, spring up and multiply on 
every hand. In this confusion, we lose sight of the truth 
and wander in the mazes of error. We forget, or never 
perceive, that, in nature, there is but one philosophical 
method, analysis and synthesis, which are relative and co- 
relative to each other; both being necessary to each oth- 
er for the completion of knowledge. Method is but a 
rational progress towards an end. The ends of philoso- 
phy are the discovery of causes, the resolution of our 
knowledge into unity. These are the co-efficient ele- 
ments of an effect, and the decomposition of effects into 
causes, is the fundamental procedure, called anak/m-9. 
Yet it is not the only process. We analyse only to re- 
construct, and this reconstruction, which may be regard- 
ed as the ultimate object, is termed synthesis. Analysis 
without synthesis would be incomplete : synthesis with- 
out analysis is no knowledge at all. Analysis is regres- 



24 

sive, going backwards into causes — synthesis is progres- 
sive, beginning with causes and going forward to their 
results. The two are dependent: the one the foundation, 
the other the completion of knowledge. 

"We maintain, there is scarcely any subject so little un- 
derstood as female education, notwithstanding the inter- 
est that is taken in it by society at large. The name is 
mistaken for the thing ; the shadow for the substance. 
The old prejudice we have been combatting now mani- 
fests itself again. Its reasoning is quite as sophistical as 
ever. Hear it. As woman possesses a refined and deli- 
cate constitution, as she is of too pure a nature to come 
in contact with what is gross and material, therefore she 
must be taught to regard herself as not of the earth, 
earthy ; but of the air, airy. She is petted, flattered, 
spoiled. All that is refined in millinery, all that is ex- 
quisite in bijouterie, is lavished upon her. The winds 
are not allowed to visit her too roughly ; nor must the 
sun exert his calorific rays too powerfully upon the deli- 
cate pigments of her complexion. As soon as her fond 
parents can part with their darling child, she must be 
sent to the most fashionable boarding school in the Me- 
tropolis, which is of course under the care of Madame 
— , who received her birth in Belle France, and her educa- 
tion, it may be, in a milliner's shop. Here, she is to be 
polished and refined. Here she is to be fed upon French 
soups, dress in French modes, and stammer in French 
phrases. The poor girl spends a year or so under the 
tutelage of her Parisian Maitresse d' Ecole, and returns 
home a paragon of refinement and helplessness. She has 
squandered her time, dwarfed her intellect, obtained false 
notions of life, and unfitted herself for any station de- 
manding energy and strength of character. 



The opposite extreme is quite as foolish and certainly 
more disagreeable. It is that system of education which 
is set forth with such brilliant rhetorical flourishes in the 
conventions of women which have been held of late 
years ; the object of which is to redress the injuries in- 
flicted upon woman, and restore to her the rights which 
have been unjustly wrested from her. This, it is thought, 
can be done; by destroying the natural timidity of the 
sex, and by throwing open to them the learned profes- 
sions and industrial occupations, from which they have 
been hitherto excluded. Here, all distinctions must be 
annulled. Here, old barriers must be thrown down. 
Men and women must enter the lists of competition and 
share in all honours, civic and military, religious and secu- 
lar. The arena of politics being thrown open to her, 
caucus meetings, with all their concomitants, tobacco and 
profanity, would afford her the most agreeable recrea- 
tion, and minister to her cultivation in all the proprieties 
and decencies of life ! Here, she will have a chance to 
win political distinction. Here, she can aspire to the 
highest honours in the gift of the people. If she succeed, 
we shall have female governors, female legislators, female 
judges, female sheriffs, to say nothing of female generals 
and female commodores. We shall witness the wife tak- 
ing leave of her husband for the camp, or the halls of 
legislation, charging him to take e-ood care of the house 
and the children during her absence. Of course, there 
must be no distinction in dress. The long, flowing robes 
of the present day would be an incumbrance in climb- 
ing a mast — in boxing, fencing, or in charging an enemy. 
How agreeable would it be to see one's father and mo- 
ther, for all the world, so far as externals are concerned^ 
looking just alih .' The shade of Shakspeare would be 



26 

convulsed with laughter at the comedy of errors which 
would daily and hourly happen. Perhaps the gentle- 
men, in order to save the ladies the necessity of doffing 
their graceful robes, might be persuaded to invest them- 
selves in the same, provided the privilege of wearing 
long hair be awarded them, a privilege which is even 
now occasionally assumed by the more gentle of our 
sex, which shows that they are at least women's rights 
men, if nothing more. 

This system demands not simply an equality, but an 
identity of interest and pursuit. By levelling all dis- 
tinctions, it destroys that variety which is the charm of 
the social state, and reduces the world of mind to a mo- 
notony and deadness which would be intolerable. But 
the thing is impossible. It can never be done. There 
is an infinite variety in all God's works which is a proof 
of His wisdom and goodness. He designed that man 
and woman should move in different spheres, and to 
blend or annul them, involves an impeachment of His 
wisdom. 

In considering these extremes, we have seen that the 
influence of the one upon the habits and manners is dif- 
ferent from that of the other. That while one dwarfs 
the intellect, the other sharpens and intensifles.it. While 
one produces a morbid sweetness of temper, the other 
yields an acidity and inflammability of disposition which 
kindles under the slightest provocation. While one is 
soft, gentle, lovely ; the other is harsh, tempestuous, 
hateful. While one is modest, simple and retiring ; 
the other is bold, noisy and ostentatious. 

But, there are other errors, some of which we must 
not omit to notice. One is solitary education. The ad- 
vocates of this system are opposed to having their daugli- 



.27 

ters associate with the masses, at school. The pupil must 
remain at home and pursue her studies under the direc- 
tion of a governess. Here, she will be kept from all en- 
tangling alliances. Here, in seclusion, it is thought there 
can be no contamination. The mind can be more suc- 
cessfully cultivated. The education will be broader and 
deeper. 

The grand fallacy of this reasoning lies in ignorance 
of human nature. Man is a social bein^;. All his in- 
stincts lead him to companionship with his fellows. This 
is seen in early childhood. With what relish do children 
enjoy their sports together! Alow., play is dull — they 
arc unhappy. The old aphorism, " all work and no play 
makes -lack a dull boy," is in point. Study must be a 
pa-si i in- as well as a labour. The student can have no pas- 
time without companions. He might as well dance 
without music, or breathe without air. Children teach 
one other. By mingling together, they create an enthu- 
siasm which can lie turned to good account. They see 
each others difficulties in the acquisition of knowledge. 
They become acquainted with each others good and bad 
qualities. They learn human nature with a facility which 
camiot be done at a later period ; for the workings of 
the heart are seen to better advantage in youth, than at 
maturity. What would /Eschylus or Shakspeare have 
been, had they been trained in solitude i We should 
not have had those living, speaking delineations of hu- 
man character which glow upon the pages of their im- 
mortal works. They would not have given us that clear 
insight into the complicated workings of the heart. They 
could not have portrayed the soul ; now, meditating 
deeds of darkness ; now, pining under the bitterness of 
disappointment ; now, swelling with self-conceit ; now, 



28 

burying the hoardings of avarice : now, heaving under 
the storm of passion. Solitary study is to the mind, 
what continual twilight is to plants. There will be 
structure, but no toughness of fibre ; growth, but no 
symmetry of development ; leaves, but no fruit. Soli- 
tude is ungenial. The recluse is a monster. Humanity 
has died out of him and left his soul, not tenantless, but 
the abode of gnomes and spirits of darkness. 

Another error is to regard a lady's education as a 
trivial affair, which can be acquired in i he shortest space 
of time, and without any effort on the j^art of the pupil. 
It is only necessary to send a Miss of twelve or fifteen 
years of age to a finishing school for three or six months 
to make her a prodigy of learning ! Education is re- 
garded by such parents as a passive work ! The brain, 
it is supposed, absorbs knowledge as a sponge does water, 
by capillary attraction ; and it takes as little time to 
saturate the one as the other ! 

Allusion must also be made to the more than foolish, 
the pernicious practice of constantly changing schools. 
This is utterly destructive of all real mental improve- 
ment. It completely unhinges the mind, and often ends 
in utter imbecility. You might as well look for thrift 
in a tree which is transplanted every few months ! How 
can it grow, unless it is left to itself and allowed to send 
forth its roots into the soil ? Here, the parent is respon- 
sible. The child, it may be, is dull. She learns with 
difficulty. After a few months, the pupil becomes dis- 
couraged, the parent dissatisfied, and a new school is 
sought. And so she goes the rounds, but finds no relief : 
the disease being radical, the evil remains. 

Now, one thing is clear, that the teacher should not 
be held responsible for any deficiency in the mental ca- 



29 

pacity of his papila — a proposition, I am sorry to say, 
which is not always admitted. A good teacher, it is 
thought, can make scholars out of stones, and his ex- 
cellence is to be measured by the impossibilities lie can 
achieve. 

Children of good natural abilities are sometimes spoil- 
ed by the caprice of parents, who foolishly allow them 
to go here and there to school. They acquire no habits 
of study; but, on the contrary, habits of idleness and 
frivolity, which completely disqualify them for any ra- 
tional pursuit. It should be observed, then 1 is no mind 
this side of idiocy (and there are evenschools for idiots) 
but can be improved by judicious treatment. Still it is 
impossible to produce like results in every ease, for no 
two minds are alike. There is as great a diversity in the 
mental, as in the physical world. This variety is the 
great charm of universal nature, and Bhould be under- 
stood by every parenl and teacher, for it lies at the basis 
of all good education. The skilful teacher acquaints 
himself with the peculiarities in temperament and dis- 
position of his pupils, and accommodates his instructions 
accordingly. But what can he do for those who are un- 
der his care to-day. but will be somewhere else to-mor- 
row \ Literally nothing. 

Some parents arc uttreasonal »ie in their demands. Their 
children must be put under the high pressure system and 
study every thing at once. They think, if they think at 
all, the more a child is crammed, the more learned he 
will become. They little think that the mind will no 
more bear surfeiting than 1 he body: that the former 
requires healthful stimulants for its proper development 
as well as the latter ; and that these must be adminis- 
tered with discretion. As the body cannot be made to 



30 

acquire its growth in ten or fifteen years, neither can the 
mine). If an attempt be made to force nature in either 
case, she resents the insult, and visits upon the transgres- 
sor the severest penalties. This is one of the most dif- 
ficult lessons for the American people to learn. It seems 
impossible for us to exercise moderation in any thing. 
With hot haste do we pursue our avocations, and never 
stop a moment for reflection. We eat in a hurry, sleep 
in a hurry, travel in a hurry, live in a hurry, and even 
die in a hurry. There is no people on the globe which 
enjoys such material and intellectual elements of happi- 
ness as we, and no people that so profusely squanders 
its treasures upon trifles. We underrate our blessings 
and make of ourselves beasts of burden. We do not 
understand the philosophy of living. Like moles, we 
burrow in the earth, instead of snuffing the bracing air 
and enjoying the gorgeous sunlight. The grand pursuit 
is wealth. Here, there are no barriers so high, no hardship 
so severe, as to thwart our aims, or dampen our energies. 
This love of wealth is so strong and overpowering, it is 
not strange that we should make blunders ; that our 
views of education should be erroneous. The man of 
business reasons thus : " I have been prospered. I 
have carved my own way in the world and gained 
the object of my pursuit. I know little of books. 
My advantages of education were slight. I can read, 
write, and calculate interest. And as I have done m 
well, why should I not educate my children in the 
same way % How can they do better than follow in 
my steps ? Or, if it is best they should be educated, 
why can it not be done at once ? Why spend long 
years in making this acquisition, when fortunes are 
sometimes made in a day ?" 



31 

Such men do Hot understand the nature or the ends of 
education. They may be keen at a bargain ; they may 
know the value of stocks ; they may be discriminating 
in their views of political action ; they may be wise in 
the estimation of men ; but they are unfitted to judge 
in matters which belong to mans higher nature. The}' 
cannot, as they would, weigh the soul in balances, or 
measure its powers by the yardstick. The process of 
education cannot be precipitated. It demands time, and 
time must be given to it. 

There is another evil to be described, and the only one 
to which we shall call attention. It is seckM'iani&ni: that 
o'onron monster which would thrust Lis hideous head into 
the school-room, and drive its inmates to distraction. It 
is that deadly poison, that leaven of unrighteousness, 
which fills the soul with strife, and consumes the peace 
of communities. 

This spirit, so hostile to the meekness and purity of 
Christianity, soopposed to the best interests of the young, 
we would utterly exclude from our schools and halls of 
academic learning. But the sectary erics out in alarm, 
will you not, in shutting out the formularies and dogmas 
of our church, open the floodgates of infidelity, and bring 
dishonor upon our creed .' Are we not right, and all the 
rest of the world wrong ( And if right, is not the 
school-room the place, of all others, to make proselytes 
to our faiths Shall we not teach dogmas as well as 
science i Shall not our places of instruction be convert- 
ed into theological schools, and our pupils become emu- 
lous of distinction in the exciting held of polemics '. 

It is not Christianity we ignore, but this morbid senti- 
mentalism, this disgusting cant and Pharisaical right- 
eousness, which so obsequiously obtrudes itself upon the 



public eye. It is not the Bible we would exclude from 
our schools, but theological dogmas. The Bible should 
be a text-book in every system of education. Its prin- 
ciples should be the foundation of all scholastic instruc- 
tion. Its precepts should be engraved upon the minds 
of all our youth. They should learn its language, and 
drink in its spirit, 

I must not be misunderstood on this point. I am not 
speaking from any knowledge of the existence of the 
evil in question in this community. I speak from what 
I have seen elsewhere. I am not opposing a religious 
education. This I would advocate with all my heart. 
Nor would I impugn the motives of those, who from 
conscientious scruples, are unwilling to patronize the pre- 
sent system of popular education, because in their opin- 
ion it savors of infidelity — for in some of the systems of 
State education, I fear there is too much ground for their 
opposition. From a fear lest its patronage should be gi- 
ven to particular denominations, and thereby be accused of 
partiality, the State, it may be, has discarded the offices of 
religion, and turned to the opposite extreme of irreligion, 
if not atheism and infidelity. To vindicate her wound- 
ed honour, the church resents the insult and pleads for 
the restoration of the oracles of the Lord. It is here 
we find the origin of the parochial school movement 
which will have a tendency to break up the public school 
system, unless there be a modification of the laws in fa- 
vor of religion. And this would be light. For surely, 
so powerful an engine as State patronage, ought not to 
be employed in teaching irreligion, which immediately 
follows from teaching no religion, and scattering broad- 
cast the seeds of moral death. 

In my remarks upon sectarianism, it is not the conflict 



33 

between religion and irreligion which calls for animad- 
version ; but that spirit of hostility which springs up be- 
tween the friends of truth, and threatens with disaster 
the heritage of God. It is here I would plead for the 
spirit of concession and Christian charity. It is here I 
would sound the voice of alarm, and call upon Christians 
of every name to unite in holy warfare against the foes 
of our common religion. 

As I have said, I must not be misunderstood on this 
point. I entertain, perhaps, as strong a predilection in 
favour of my own theological opinions as most men. 
I am a warm adherent of the Protestant faith. I love the 
good old paths as pursued by our Puritan Fathers. I love 
the Christianity of Luther, and Calvin, and Butler, and 
Baxter, and Edwards. Still, I do not feel free to force my 
theological opinions upon the young. I would not drive 
the ploughshare of bigotry over the fields of intolerance, 
and turn up to sight the hideous weapons of religious 
warfare. I would not amuse my pupils by splitting hairs 
with the Armenians and Calvinists, or with the Realists 
and Nominalists, for the sake of exhibiting the dialectic 
skill of those old polemic writers who dipped their pens 
in gall, and traced their words in fire. 

I would advocate Christian education. I would base 
our academic institutions upon the fundamental doctrines 
of religion, as held by Protestant Christianity ; for here 
is common ground. Here we may all stand in safety, 
without compromising our principles or dishonoring our 
faith, leaving the more delicate shades, as well as the 
broader distinctions of denominational views, with the 
religious teachers of each, to approve or condemn. 

Still, I hold that no person is fit to be entrusted with 
the education of the young, who is not a faithful disciple 



34 

of Jesus Christ. For how is he properly to mould their 
minds and hearts, unless he is imbued with the spirit of 
our holy religion ? 

Education, as applicable to man's entire nature, should 
be threefold, intellectual, moral, and physical. The first 
has always claimed the highest place in the estimation 
of man. This is wrong. If precedence is to be given 
to either, it should be to the moral training ; for this in- 
volves the happiness of the soul. What is the highly 
cultivated infidel teacher, but a refined and subtle 
enemy of the religion of Christ % Better had it been for 
the world and himself had such a person never been 
educated. 

The influence of the Teacher, be he good or bad, is 
undying. Like the waves excited by the fall of a peb- 
ble in a quiet lake, so shall the cycles of his influence 
multiply and extend themselves for ever, on the shore- 
less ocean of eternity. 

The special object for which we have assembled, is to 
dedicate this beautiful temple to the education of woman, 
whose cause we have humbly endeavored to advocate. 

This massive structure has been erected by the muni- 
ficence and enlightened policy of the citizens of Buffalo, 
who have felt that something ought to be done for the 
education of their daughters, commensurate with the 
commanding position and remarkable growth of their 
city, so justly styled the " Queen City" of the Lakes. 

Buffalo has many physical attractions. It is situated 
at the foot of the most beautiful of the great chain of 
American Lakes, and on one of the most charming rivers, 
whose cataract is the wonder and admiration of the world. 
Accessible from all parts of the country by its canal, 
railroads, and lake navigation, it is literally the great thor- 



35 

oughfare of the nation, the connecting link between the 
Atlantic States and the Valley of the Mississippi. In a 
commercial point of view, there is no city in the State, 
with the exception of New York, and certainly none on 
the Lakes, that can compete with it ; none which bears 
so striking a resemblance to its great prototype, in the 
character, enterprise and thrift of its inhabitants. 

To give dignity and character to this spirit of enter- 
prise, to divert it into such channels as shall render it most 
productive of human happiness, it is necessary that a 
higher standard than that of mere material good should 
be held up to view. Schools of the highest grade must 
be established. Science, literature, and the ails, must 
add their refining and elevating influence. The people, 
the wlide people, must be educated. 

To secure such results, so far as it is in the power of 
a single institution to do it, has been the laudable aim of 
those who have contributed their money and their influ- 
ence to this enterprise. They have not been governed 
by the mercenary views of sectarian policy. They would 
throw wide open the doors of the Institution, and ask 
the young ladies of the community to come in and share 
in its privileges. Gentlemen of the different religious 
persuasions, and the various callings in life, have been its 
warm friends and supporters from the outset. It is the 
work of a common public impulse. The time had come 
for the establishment of such an institution. The city 
demanded it. It was behind other cities in this respect. 
It had entrusted the education of its daughters to other 
communities long enough. It was time to assume its 
own responsibilities, and supply its own educational wants. 
The contributions have been generous. And in this con- 
nection, it is proper to record the name of one individu- 



36 

al, now deceased ; but for whose signal liberality, we 
should not have assembled in this spacious Chapel this 
evening. I refer to Jabez Goodell, Esq., who gave over 
ten thousand dollars to this enterprise. As an expres- 
sion of their regard for his many virtues, and also of their 
sense of indebtedness for this philanthropic act, the stock- 
holders unanimously resolved that this edifice should re- 
ceive the name of " Goodell Hall." 

The Academy site is one of the most eligible and 
beautiful in the city, and by its retirement from the noise 
and bustle of business, is admirably fitted for the pur- 
poses of education. It is an isolated plot of ground, 
fronting on one of the most beautiful avenues for private 
residences in the city, with side streets, and a lovely pri- 
vate park in the rear. There are two Academic build- 
ings, "Goodell Hall" and "Evergreen Cottage." The latter, 
formerly known as " Johnson Cottage," is substantially 
built of stone, large and commodious, and will be occu- 
pied by the family of the Princij^al. The former fronts 
upon the Park, and embraces, it is thought, all the im- 
provements of modern school architecture. It is built 
of yellow brick, with a basement of Medina sand-stone. 
Its ground dimensions are 80 by 94 feet. Including the 
basement, it is four stories high, and sufficiently large for 
the accommodation of six hundred day scholars. The 
arrangements and uses of the building are as follows : 

The Basement is divided into Janitor's rooms, furnace, 
and store rooms. 

The First Story is intersected by two halls at right 
angles to each other, the one running from front to rear 
is 12 by 80 feet, the other 10 by 94 feet. It has a re- 
ceiving room 18 by 31 feet, and seven large school-rooms, 
each one 18 by 31, and four 19 by 25 feet, making two 



37 

suites connected by sliding doors, and two 18 by 23 feet. 
For the accommodation of pupils, tliere are four large 
wardrobes on this floor. 

Tup: Second Story contains halls similar to those of 
the first story; two rooms 31 by 38 feet each — one to be 
used by the Collegiate Department, the other for the 
Library ; two rooms for the Academic Department, each 
25 by 38 feet, with two large wardrobes. 

Tjie Third Story contains Chapel, Lecture Room, 
Laboratory, Drawing and Painting Room, and room for 
Apparatus and Cabinets of Natural History. The cha- 
pel occupies the centre, is 40 by 68 feet, and 21 feet to 
the ceiling. It contains 4 aisles and 78 slips. For the 
easy transmission of sound, the ceiling and rear have 
been arched. It can be brilliantly lighted with gas, as 
can every room in the building. It is approached by a 
vestibule, into which lead two side staircases with doors 
opening outwards. There is also a side entrance and 
stair case, thereby securing safety of ingress and egress. 
On one side of the chapel, occupying the south wing, 
are the lecture room and laboratory : the former 20 by 
46 feet, with elevated seats and arched ceiling ; the 
latter 15 by 20 feet, and connected with the former. 
These rooms have been constructed after the best 
models, and will be furnished with all the appliances for 
giving thorough instruction in chemistry and the natural 
sciences. The north wing contains the drawing and 
painting room, which has an arched ceiling, and is fur- 
nished with sky-lights, and all the requisites of a studio, 
the plan having been furnished by T. S. Cummings, 
Esq., an accomplished teacher of drawing and painting 
in the city of New York. 

Special attention has also been given to the heating 



38 

and ventilating apparatus, most important items in the 
construction of public or private buildings ; but which, 
unfortunately, are too generally lost sight of. The ven- 
tilating, hot air and smoke flues, are associated together 
in the same stack of chimneys. All the rooms are venti- 
lated — some having four ventilating registers, two in the 
base and two in the ceiling. These will secure perfect 
ventilation — a most valuable desideratum, inasmuch as a 
pure atmosphere, is essential to health. Four of Knee- 
land's furnaces have been erected, which will thoroughly 
warm the entire building. The air thus warmed and 
circulated through the house, is not taken from the cel- 
lar, as is frequently the case, but from the external at- 
mosphere at a sufficiently elevated point above the ground 
to obtain the pure and wholesome element. 

There is an abundant supply of the Niagara River 
water in every story of the building. The school 
rooms are furnished with desks of the most approved 
pattern. Chairs, instead of cumbrous stools and benches, 
which disfigure too many school houses, are used — it be- 
ing necessary, to prevent curvature of the spine and conse- 
quent deformity and feebleness, that the body in child- 
hood be properly supported. 

The architectural drawings of this building were pre- 
pared by Mr. E. B. Smith, of this city, in accordance 
with plans and suggestions made by the speaker, as to 
the requisites of such an establishment. In no instance 
has convenience of arrangement been sacrificed to orna- 
ment. Still, to the eye of criticism it may be found, 
that no inconsiderable contribution has been made to 
the architectural beauty of the city. The style is simple, 
without tinsel or pretension, and harmonizes with the 
objects for which it was designed. 



39 

The masonry was executed by Mr. Henry Runirill ; 
the carpentry by Messrs. A. & H. Morgan ; who have 
done their work in the most thorough and substantial 
manner. The painting was done by Henry Houghton. 
The furnaces were built by Mr. E. Y. Kneeland, the val- 
uable character of which has been fully tested. The 
gas fixtures were put in by Mr. Win. H. Glenny ; the 
water fixtures by Messrs. Hubbard cfe Hart. 

In a word, we feel confident in asserting that there can- 
not be found in the State, an Academy edifice which 
combines a greater number of excellencies than this. 
The expense of the entire establishment, when complet- 
ed, including ground, buildings, furniture and apparatus, 
will amount to something like $40,000. 

The Institution was incorporated on the 14th of Octo- 
ber last, and is consequently under the care and super- 
vision of the Regents of the University of the State. 
This fact gives it additional interest, and removes many 
objections that may be raised to private schools, as all its 
affairs are subject to the approbation or disapprobation 
of these public censors. 

There are other characteristics which distinguish pub- 
lic and private schools, which it may be well to consider 
for a moment. In the former, there is usually a greater 
variety of talent employed in the departments of in- 
struction. There is consequently a more systematic di- 
vision of labour, which is absolutely essential to thorough- 
ness. There are very few persons, if any, who can teach 
many branches well. The greatest success is to be found, 
other things being equal, where the attention of the in- 
structor is confined to a few specific subjects — the fewer 
the better. We see this illustrated in every professional 
calling. In our colleges, in our law and medical schools, 



40 

there is this division of labour of which We speak. No 
professor is expected to occupy several professorial 
chairs. 

Public iustitutious are also preferable to private schools, 
because of the greater facilities they offer iu the way of 
lecture rooms, library and apparatus which are essential 
to thorough instruction, but which from their expensive 
character cannot readily be procured. 

Another advantage in favour of public institutions, is 
the greater probability of permanence, their financial 
and educational interests not being left contingent upon 
the caprice or life of one individ ual. Private schools are 
from their very nature ephemeral. They are only in- 
tended to subserve the interests of a few individuals : 
and when these retire from their direction, such schools 
naturally decline and are numbered among the things 
that were. It is not to be expected that they can 
gather about them those hallowed associations which 
cluster about such institutions as Harvard University, 
Yale College, the Boston Latin School, and other insti- 
tutions in the land, which point back to the early settle- 
ment of the country, and have become venerable in the 
eyes of the world. 

We have described the main features of the grounds, 
buildings and furniture. It is only necessary to add that 
the system of instruction is similar to that given 
in our best seminaries. It is ample ; embracing 
all those subjects of study which are calculated to deve- 
lope the mind and polish the manners. It is particularly 
modelled after that of Rutgers Institute, of New York 
city, which was under the care of the speaker for the 
first twelve years of its existence ; during which time 
there were received into it upwards of twenty-six hun- 



41 

dred different pupils. That Institution is still in a highly 
prosperous condition, and enjoys a most enviable reputa- 
tion in this country and Europe, for the thoroughness of 
its course in Belles Lettres, English Composition, Mathe- 
matics and the Natural Sciences. One great source of 
its success is to be found in the fact that many of its 
pupils begin and finish their education there. Eight, 
ten and twelve years of systematic drilling cannot but 
secure satisfactory results in scholarship. That Institu- 
tion was the idol of my heart. It had grown up under 
my hand. Never was I called upon to make a greater 
sacrifice of feeling than when the ties were sundered 
which had connected me with that interesting and most 
attractive field of labour. Had my decision been post- 
poned to the hour when I took my final leave of that 
groupe of more than four hundred interesting youth, I 
could not have summoned sufficient courage for the step. 
You will excuse me for this personal allusion, for I can- 
not refer to the scene of my former labours without an 
intense degree of interest. 

We are led to hope that in this field, now so promis- 
ing, the most gratifying fruits will also be gathered. It 
is our intention, as I have already stated, to furnish every 
facility for thorough instruction in every department of 
female education. For justification in making this re- 
mark, I would invite you to go from room to room and 
see the generous arrangements that have been made. 
Two things, however, are yet needed, which, I trust, will 
be fully supplied by some of our wealthy citizens. I 
refer to a library and an apparatus for our beautiful La- 
boratory. These would be invaluable acquisitions in 
giving an impetus to our undertaking. What benefac- 
tion would tell more directly upon the interests of the 



young than this ? It would be full of immediate, valu- 
able results. 

In the prosecution of our work, we shall need the sym- 
pathy and co-operation of our friends and patrons. A 
hind word, be it of approbation, of advice, or of gentle 
rebuke, is always appreciated by the faithful and con- 
scientious teacher. It cheers him amid' his exhausting 
and self-denying labours. It is like water to the thirsty 
soul. Aid us, then, in this philanthropic cause. Rally 
around this temple of truth. Bring your offerings, your 
congratulations and your sympathies. Come with glad- 
dened hearts, and let us joyfully dedicate this temple to 
the living God. Here, may religion in all her vestal pu- 
rity, burn on living altars. Here, may God be honoured 
and the dearest interests of humanity advanced. Here, 
let no root of bitterness spring up to cast its dead- 
ly shadow. Let no rude hand assail, no breath of 
calumny tarnish, these comely Avails. In honour let 
them stand — " a strong tower of defence" — a glory and 
a rejoicing. Come, then, in this hour of congratulation. 
Come, with humble reverence. Come with your cen- 
sors of grateful incense. Come and lift aloud your songs 
of praise, for ours is a goodly heritage. God hath 
planted it, and to Him do we consecrate it with our 
hearts and our hands. 



PROCEEDINGS 

AT THE 

medication of (ffioofcell f) a U , 

&c, <feC. 

The dedication of " Goodell Hall" called together a crowded auditory 
of ladies and gentlemen, on the evening of the 6th of July. It was an 
interesting occasion to the friends of the Institution. After a year of 
toil, under the favoruing auspices of a kind Providence, they were per- 
mitted to enter one of the most beautiful structures for female educa- 
tion in the State. It was a season of congratulation and rejoicing. The 
invited guests, trustees, teachers and pupils met at the " Cottage " and 
proceeded to the " Hall," where the exercises were conducted according 
to the following programme : 

ORDER OF EXERCISES 

3;1 ttyt Ue^icotion of 

GOODELL HALL. 

VI. JULY MDCOOL1I. 

1.— SINGING by the Young Ladies. 

2.— READING OF THE SCRIPTURES.. by.. Rev. Mr. Schuyler. 

3.— PRAYER by ...Rev. Dr. Lord. 

4.— ADDRESS by Chas. E. West, LL. D. 



5. — linging, of l]fi lebitattoit !pn, 

("Written by a Pupil.) 
Glorious structure ! Fount of learniug ! 

Blessings on thy spacious halls ! 
Let the star of truth be burning, 

Ever on thy sacred walls. 
Here the song of hope be stealing, 

And our spirits gently thrill, 
"While upon thy lofty ceiling, 

Blaze these words : — " Light ! more light still !" 

Strange to thee, the bright young faces, 

And the clust'ring locks of hair, 
As, this hour, we take our places, 

Ere ascends the voice of prayer ; — 
Strange, each form so meekly bending, 

"While our hearts to heaven arise ; — 
Strange the hymn of praise ascending 

Like sweet incense to the skies. 

Hear our prayer, oh God in heaven ! 

Grant this place thy gracious love, 
Let that peace to it be given, 

Coming only from above. 
Waft thy blessing, Holy Father, 

'er this noble hall to-day, 
Let it here forever linger, 

'Tis for this we humbly pray. 

-BENEDICTION by Rev. Dr. Thompson. 



As the Academy is a new institution, it may not be inappropriate to 
subjoin a brief description of some of its more important features. 

The Institution is divided into three Departments, Primary, Aca- 
demic and Collegiate. 

The Primary Department embraces pupils-in the elementary blanches 
of knowledge and who are under eight years of age. 

The Academic Department includes those between the ages of eight 
and fourteen, who have acquired a knowledge of the branches taught 
in the Primary Department. 

The Collegiate Department is designed for young ladies of fourteen 
years of age and upwards, who have either passed through the Aca- 



demic Department, or qualified themselves elsewhere fcr admission. 
As three years will be the ordinary time for the pupil to pass in this 
Department, to qualify her for a diploma, it will be convenient to divide 
it into three Sections, to be designated as the Junior, Middle and Senior 
Classes. These classes will occupy the same room, be enrolled upon 
the same record, and will have some recitations in common. 



Ancient and Modern Languages. 

The Latin language has been very generally studied by the pupils 
in the higher Departments the past year. It is designed to make the 
study of universal application, especially among those who are intend- 
ing to pursue a thorough course of education. 

The French and German languages are taught by native and compe- 
tent teachers. 

Ornamental Branches 
Under this head may be included Penmanship, Needle Work, Paint- 
ing and Drawing. Special attention will be given to these branches. 



English Composition. 
This branch of education, in connection with the study of English 
Literature, will receive that attention i(s importance demands. 

Apparatus. 

In the study of the physical sciences, constant use will be made of 
appropriate apparatus. A line collection of beautiful instruments has 
already been purchased. The new Laboratory will be furnished with 
every appliance for a thorough and systematic course of instruction in 
Chemistry and Natural Philosophy. The course will embrace about 
one hundred lectures, and will occupy two years. There will also be 
lectures on Geology, Botany and kindred subjects. 



Daily and Weekly Public Exercises. 

The teachers and pupils meet every morning at ten minutes before 
nine o'clock for religious exercises. These consist in singing, reading a 
portion of scripture, and prayer. 

On Friday afternoon of each week there are public exercises in the 
chapel, to which the patrons and friends of the institution are always 
welcome. On those occasions, pieces of music are sung, selected com- 



positions read, and recitations in English, German or French, made 
by v the young ladies. 

Records. 

A daily record is made of the attendance, scholarship, and deport- 
ment of every pupil, an abstract of which is sent to the parents at the 
close of every week, to be countersigned and returned. From these 
records, the merit roll is made and read every Monday morning in the 
chapel. 

Examinations. 

Every Friday will be devoted to reviews and examinations of the va- 
rious classes in the elementary branches of study — the design being to 
familiarize the pupil with what is too apt to be regarded as of little ac- 
count. The public examination will occur in the latter part of June, at 
which parents and friends are admitted. 



Visitation. 

Besides the general supervision of the Trustees, a Board of Visitors 
has been appointed, consisting of the clergy of the city, and gentlemen 
of other professional callings, who have kindly consented to visit the 
Institution from time to time, and give occasional lectures upon topics 
connected with education. 

Admission. 

Pupils will be admitted at any time during the term, although the 
desirable period for entrance is at the beginning of, the term. The ap- 
plicant must satisfy the Principal as to her good character. 



Prices of Tuition. 

Tuition bills are payable during the first two weeks of each term. 
The prices per term are as follows, viz : 

In the Primary Department from $4 to $6 

" " Academic " " 8 to 10 

" " Collegiate " 12 

" " French " 6 

" " German " 6 

, " " Drawing " ------- 6 

" " Painting " 10 

Instruction on the Piano, 15 



6 

No charge is made for Vocal Music, Latin, or Scientific Lectures. 

For fuel, each pupil is charged seventy-five cents for the winter and 
spring terms, each. Fifty cents are charged per term for pens, ink and 
writing books. Any pupil entering after the first two weeks of the term 
is charged for the time she is present by tenths. No deduction allowed 
for absence, except in cases of sickness, and that for four weeks' absence 
and upwards. 



Boarding. 

Commodious arrangements have been made for the reception of a 
limited number of young ladies into the family of the Principal, where 
they will be treated as daughters, sharing in the protection and influ- 
ences of a quiet and happy home. Mrs. West will be aided in the su- 
pervision of the young ladies, and the domestic arrangements of the 
family, by a matron whose qualifications and accomplishments eminently 
fit her for the situation. 

Price of board, including washing, fuel and light, will be $200 for 
the Academic year, or $ 50 per term. This does not include tuition. 
For fractions of a term, the pupils will be charged $5 per week. 



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